N2 closed - Athlone cooling towers declared unsafe

it was open today btw.. i drove past it on way to stellenbosch. the cape town side of the tower closest to the highway as lost almost all of its 'belts'
 
alf101 said:
I'm sure there'll be a big announcement.
It'll affect lots of people, the N2 and Jan Smuts will have to be closed.

I'll miss the towers from a navigating point of view, but happy they won't be painting some stoopid frikkin logos on it.
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GPS ftw :p
 
nice.. but what about the smell.. at least with the towers u can say 'oi, that smell is from the old coal towers..' btw how long does it take for the smell to leave the area? or is it the polluted water.

Maybe this is where the olympic stadium should be :D hahaha.. nose plugs will come with the ticket for free
 
Any idea when tthese towers are coming down? They said some time before winter. Will be :cool: to watch.
 
Fawlty Towers?

Hmmm ;)

I think they need to start building another stadium near them.
 
waynegohl said:
It's an inside job. There would proberly be such an outcry form the community regarding the demolishing of the towers that the best way to get rid of them is to say they have a structural fault with them.
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Why would the community care about the towers? They've been useless for ages. :confused:
 
City studying all aspects of Athlone Cooling Towers demolition process

http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages...sofAthloneCoolingTowersdemolitionprocess.aspx

Progress towards the demolition of the two Athlone cooling towers is proceeding smoothly, as the City works towards a demolition date around Sunday 30 May 2010.

A professional team, which includes an environmental scientist, was appointed on 10 March by means of a competitive process to oversee the technical, environmental and heritage aspects of the project and to prepare for a safe demolition.

The decision to demolish the two iconic towers follows structural damage to one of the cooling towers during the early hours of Sunday, 14 February 2010, when the stabilising rings around one of the towers became detached and fell to the ground. These rings were fitted as an additional safety and stability measure almost twenty years ago. Consulting structural engineers were immediately appointed to assess the damage and advise the City on what steps should be taken. Their recommendation was that the towers be demolished as soon as possible.

The City accepted the recommendation and has immediately proceeded to plan the demolition process.

Consulting engineers appointed to oversee the project did another detailed assessment of the towers following the initial assessment of 14 February. This report has been finalised and the second independent assessment endorses the first, that the demolition should proceed as soon as possible.

The time-lines for the demolition process are tentatively given as follows: The tender for the demolition of the towers will be advertised early in April and will close approximately three weeks later, whereafter the contractor will be appointed by the City. The date for the demolition of the two iconic towers will be determined by the progress made to safeguard staff and functioning infrastructure during the dangerous preparation of the towers for demolition.

It is anticipated that as many as three thousand holes need to be drilled into each tower to allow for the placing of controlled charges in the towers, ensuring that they collapse in a controlled manner under their own weight. Both towers will be imploded and collapse simultaneously. Between now and the date of demolition the towers are being carefully monitored for further collapse or damage.

The site is being monitored to identify possible problems with high winds before the demolition takes place. Cape Town wind records for the past five years are being studied and a wind monitoring instrument, controlled by the South African Weather Service has recently been erected on site.

“The Consulting Team is fully aware of all the environmental and risk implications that could result from the demolition and there is ample legislation in place to cover this aspect. The environmental and heritage aspects of the demolition process are critical issues that are being addressed before the demolition can take place and could possibly present a challenge to the anticipated time lines,” says Alderman Clive Justus, Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services.

Whilst the potential for harmful emissions that could be released into the atmosphere has been raised, during their lifetime the towers were only used for the evaporation and cooling of steam from the coal fired power station. No pollutants or harmful emissions will be experienced or emitted during the demolition. The only likely pollutants would be cement dust from the collapse or implosion, and some dried algae from the walls.

In the meantime, various role players and affected parties are being consulted for their input in the demolition process, which includes a baseline environmental and heritage assessment.

The consultants are simultaneously preparing a detailed plan for the event, involving all Traffic Services and the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre, as surrounding roads, including the N2 and Jan Smuts Drive, are likely to be closed for a short period during the actual demolition. The Airports Company of South Africa is being consulted to decide upon a provisional period of closure of the N2 that will cause minimal disruption to traffic heading to and from the airport Alderman said Clive Justus.



Martin Pollack

2010/04/09
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Will have to find a front row seat for Sunday 30 May 2010.

Maybe Mal-enema can sit very close. :D
 
Wind can blow Athlone towers over

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Wind-can-blow-Athlone-towers-over-20100412

Cape Town - Emergency measures have been taken to close the N2 and protect people when the north-westerly wind is stronger than 65km/h - for fear that a strong wind could cause the Athlone cooling towers to be blown over, and that parts of it could fall on this busy highway.

The tenders for the demolition of the two cooling towers of the redundant Athlone power station closed on Friday.

Clive Justus, mayoral committee member for utility services, said the winter wind from the north-west is usually stronger than the south-easterly.

At the Athlone cooling towers, this north-westerly wind blows towards the N2.

"With a wind speed of over 85km/h, the towers could collapse. We don't want it to be blown over and have pieces falling on the road," said Justus.

Five years of wind speeds in the area were studied, and emergency measures were determined in accordance with the study.

Justus said the emergency plans entail, among other things, the closure of the N2, the evacuation of personnel at the premises as well as the evacuation of any pedestrians in the area.

Both foreign and local companies were able to tender for the contract to demolish the towers.

The provisional demolition date is May 30, which is less than two weeks before the start of the World Cup Soccer Tournament.

One of FIFA's requirements is that the N2 in particular - as an important route between the Cape Town International Airport and the CBD - must be in perfect condition.

The preparation work for the demolition is considered dangerous, because 3 000 holes must be drilled into each of the towers for the controlled implosions.

The plan is that both towers will be imploded simultaneously.

In the mean time the towers are being carefully monitored for any further damage or the danger that they may collapse. Justus said the team of consultants are well aware of the risks and the implications the demolition may hold for the environment.

The decision to demolish the towers was taken after the rings which stabilise the towers started disintegrating and falling off.
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I will have to get the family to go and "watch" if the demo does happen on the 30th of May
 
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